This invention relates to prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis.
Apoptosis or programmed cell death is characterized by cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and chromatin condensation that culminates in cell fragmentation (Kerr et al., 1972, Br. J. Cancer 26:239). Stimuli as diverse as hyperthermia, growth factor withdrawal, chemotherapeutic agents, radiation, and oxidative stress induce apoptosis in many cell types (Gerschenson et al., 1992, FASEB J. 6:2450; Schwartzman et al., 1993, Endocrine Reviews 14:133; Cohen, J., 1994, J. Lab. Clin. Med. 124:761). Antioxidants have been shown to prevent apoptosis in a number of cell types, such as lymphocytes (Hockenbery et al., 1993, Cell 75:421, Olivier et al., 1992, Abstract No. PoA 2376, Int. Conf. AIDS 8:A65; Roederer et al., 1993, Pharmacology 46:121; Sandstrom et al., 1994, J. Leukoc. Biol. 55:221), neurons (Rothstein et al., 1994, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91:4155), and vascular endothelial cells (Abello et al., 1994, Arch. Surg. 129:134,140).